PREPARING

BID
PRESENTATIONS
BY: Pat Craigmile
Manager of Sports
City of Mississauga
Pat.craigmile@mississauga.ca

PREPARING BID PRESENTATIONS

When preparing a Bid Presentation remember:

You are selling yourself your group, agency,
municipality
You need to create excitement
You need to demonstrate how you will be successful
You need to outline what you can deliver and deliver
well and better than anyone else

Things to consider when contemplating

submitting a Bid:
Can we deliver..

The fans, audience

A financially successful event
Corporate sponsor support
Key message related to the event
The best venues
A professionally run event

If you are convinced you can deliver the event with positive
values, the volunteer base, the media, the support, the
business community and the fun you are now ready to prepare your
Bid
presentation.

HOSTING STANDARDS:

Hosting standards considered when preparing

Bids may vary depending on the calibre of the
event International, National, Provincial and
Local.

The following provides examples of Standards

that may need to be addressed when preparing
your Bid Presentation:
The host community must demonstrate the ability to
stage major national, international, provincial, regional or
local events in a highly successful manner, both
financially and logistically.
The host community and partners must have a sufficient
population base from which to market the event.
The host site for the event must be in close proximity to
an international airport (i.e. Maximum 200 kilometres or
2 hours travel time) and major highway arteries.

 The host site must have a strong volunteer base within

the business community and community at large from
which to draw on for leadership, both at the host site and
satellite locations, if applicable. The bid should outline
plans for recruitment, training and recognition of
volunteers.
The host community must have an appropriate facility for
key events. All satellite facilities must meet minimum
standards (i.e. Technical) and be within a specific
distance (i.e. 200 kilometres) of the main venue; host
community.

 The host Organizing Committee must have a certified

guarantor who agrees to underwrite the financial
guarantee for the event.
The host community must demonstrate the degree to
which the staging of this event will impact economically
on the region, both on a short and long-term basis.
The host Organizing Committee must demonstrate how
they will extend the excitement of hosting the event as
broadly throughout the community and surrounding
areas. The bid should include host plans for community
involvement, together with any special events or social
activities which would add a festival-like atmosphere to
the hosting arrangements.

 The event must be priced in such a way to ensure the

events are affordable to the family, individuals or groups
in the community. This will allow spectators of all ages
the opportunity to experience an event of this type or
magnitude. At the same time the ticket pricing must be
structured to enable the Host Organizing Committee to
achieve revenue projections.
The key when submitting Bids is to strive to exceed the
standards! Your goal should be to host the best event
ever!!

CRITICAL PATH:
A detailed Critical Path must be submitted with any Bid.
A critical path is an important process in showing
teamwork, understanding, ownership, support and
excitement for the event. Everyone can see the big
picture and how important every person and detail is to
the organizing of the event.

EVENT BID PRESENTATION COMPONENTS:

GOALS:

Establish the goals of your event.

EXAMPLE:
1.

To be an overwhelming success as an event.

2.

Take female hockey to the next level (from the OWHA

Bid presentation Package for the 2000 Womens World
Hockey Championship)

What will it take to accomplish these goals?

1. VOLUNTEERS:
- critical to the success of the event
- the performance of the volunteers will have a direct
impact on everyone who is part of the event
participants, spectators.

You need to identify what you need from the

volunteers, i.e.
-

Experience related to the event

Business skills

Enthusiasm

Commitment

Positive attitude

Integrity

Honesty

A desire to contribute

A desire to have fun !

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT: HOW WILL

YOU DO IT?
EXAMPLES:
- Through a multi-faceted approach word
of mouth, advertising, Internet targeting of
specific groups or known individuals
- Through the business community who have
skills specific tasks
- With persons who have been involved in
similar events in the past

SCREENING PROCESS: OUTLINE YOUR

PROCESS
EXAMPLES:
- Volunteers fill out application forms in order
to match skills, interest and availability
- Steering and Management Committee
members are usually high profile community
persons with experience and interest in the
type of event you are bidding to host.
Examples (names) of these individuals
should be included.

TRAINING OF VOLUNTEERS:

how will you train the volunteers?

who will be providing the training?

components of the training should be

outlined:

EXAMLES:
-

nature of the event; goals

risk management

policies on harassment and abuse

codes of conduct

accountability

team building

Big Picture and how they fit in

their impact on the success of the event

RECOGNITION / APPRECIATION:

- Outline how you will recognize the contribution of the

volunteers; how will you recognize their contributions
before, during and after the event;
- Your budget needs to reflect the activities of volunteer
participation (i.e. training, recognition through specific
activities, etc.)

2. PROPOSED BUDGET:

- A detailed budget must be submitted with any Bid

Presentation to include a breakdown of expenses and
revenues. If the event you are bidding on has been held
previously, you should show the actual figures (if
available) for comparison purposes:

Revenues should include:

Sponsors contributions, both cash and in-kind
Gate receipts
Grant money (i.e. Federal, Provincial)
Souvenirs
Any other miscellaneous revenues

Expenditures should include:

Accommodations
Travel / Transportation
Meals
Opening / Closing Ceremonies
Special Events / Socials
Related Committee Expenses
Volunteer Accreditation

 Administration
Event Administrator (if applicable)
Promotions and Advertising
Facility Rentals
Contingency Fund (for unforeseen expenses usually 2
to 5% of total revenues)

3. MARKETING STRATEGY:
Your marketing strategy needs to identify the core theme
of your event i.e. Family Fun; participation.
Who is your target market?
What are the best ways to reach them?
What are the objectives of your marketing campaigns?
What is your Marketing Strategy? (i.e. timed media
releases and event; ways to secure public support)
Outline examples of the marketing / promotion tactics.

4. SPONSORSHIP STRATEGY:
-

Outline the objectives of your Sponsorship Strategy

EXAMPLES:
Find / Secure partners to generate revenues in addition
to ticket sales to ensure profit goals are met.
Attract new / potential partners to the event you are
hosting (i.e. Disabled sport).

How will you accomplish your objectives?

EXAMPLES:
Corporate Support
Fundraising
Special Promotions
The benefits of sponsoring your event must be clearly
outlined to potential supporters
Sponsorship packages need to be outlined i.e. as a
Gold or Official Supporter, what do they receive?

5.

ORGANIZATION HISTORY, VALUES,

EXPERIENCES:

- If the Bid Presentation is being made by a specific

organization (i.e. Ontario Womens Hockey Association),
the bid should include details such as:
Values and Mission Statement
History, including prior event hosting experiences
Future plans for the organization
Role of the organization locally, provincially,
nationally or internationally (depending on the
event you are bidding for)

6. HOST COMMUNITY:
- What does the Host Community have to offer?
EXAMPLES:
Location highlights
Transportation linkages
Facilities to host event
Accommodations
Demographic base
Media market

 Corporate base
Hospitality
Volunteers and leadership
Special events and locations

- Letters of support should be included

with this section:
EXAMPLE:
- Politicians
- Celebrities
- Corporations
- Organizations / Individuals from the
Community

7. TRANSPORTATION:
- Details of the various modes of transportation and their
accessibility must be included:
EXAMPLES:
Road, Air, Rail services available and proximity to
event venues.
Examples of schedules to shuttle participants in the
event as well as spectators.

8. ACCOMMODATIONS:
- Details of both the host hotel(s) as well as hotels for
potential visitors.
EXAMPLES:
- hotel names and location
- # of rooms
- room rates
- meeting facilities
- other amenities and facilities

9. HOSTING FACILITIES / VENUES:

- Specific details of each facility need to be included:
EXAMPLES:
- Building Amenities
- Event Services (i.e. food & beverage)
- Listing and outcomes of previous events
hosted
- Security capabilities

10. IMPACT / LEGACY OF HOSTING THE

EVENT
- How will you know you were successful?
- Measurement Methods (i.e. SWOT Analysis Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).

CONCLUSION / SUMMARY:
Summarize why your Bid is the one to be chosen:
EXAMPLES:
- Highlight experiences
- Partnerships
- Support
- Benefits

We can do the best Job!!